Spain Honors Cuban Cigars and Matadors With 2022 Tauromaquia Series
Spain’s Cuban cigar distributor Tabacalera S.L.U. continues to pay tribute to the country’s love of both bullfighting and Cuban tobacco with its fourth release of Tauromaquia, a series of smokes packaged in limited-edition, decorative boxes that honor famous matadors.
Made exclusively for the Spanish market, this year’s release is dedicated to Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, known as “Manolete.” The cigar is the Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan, one of the thickest Hoyos, measuring 5 7/8 inches by 54 ring gauge. Each glossy box is illustrated with a colorful sketch of the famous bullfighter and holds 10 cigars.
Only 1,000 numbered boxes of the 2022 “Tauromaquia y Manolete” are being produced, according to Tabacalera. The boxes retail for 250 euros apiece, or about $270.
Spain’s Tauromaquia series is relatively young. In 2019, Tabacalera began the program by putting a sketch of Morante de la Puebla on a box of aged Montecristo Double Edmundos. In 2020, the honor went to Joselito el Gallo and Partagás Serie P No. 2. Last year, Juan Belmonte graced a box of 10 Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchills.
